She’s 64 and climbs 40 storeys in under 7 minutes: Veteran tower runners and the community they inspire

SINGAPORE: For 64-year-old Yim Pui Fun, chasing her passion means pounding the stairs, storey by storey, week after week.

As she climbs, her pace begins to falter, her breathing grows harder, her steps more laborious. But taking the lift is not an option.

This time, she reaches the top of a 39-storey HDB block in 6 minutes and 34 seconds. 

“Crazy” and “maniac” are just some of the words her friends have used to describe her.

An avid runner since her pre-university days, Ms Yim was looking for a new adventure when she chanced upon tower running - a sport that involves running up tall man-made structures - and took part in the Kuala Lumpur Towerthon in 2001. “I have been hooked since then,” Ms Yim tells CNA. 

In the following decades, she took part in countless races.

She has the medals to show for it. Packed neatly in plastic bags, her numerous medals bear testament to her twin passions for road running and tower running, filling two glass cases in her living room.

In another room, trophies from her podium finishes fill up a large part of a table. 

And she is not alone. 

75-year-old Jimmy Lim’s foray into tower running began during a chat with his friends in 2004.

“We were talking about vertical marathons and they said it’s not easy. Then I wanted to give it a try,” Mr Lim says. 

It sparked an enduring passion, as he sought opportunities to race locally and overseas. 

Both train at least twice a week. 

But what of the belief that running up stairs is bad for the joints, especially for the elderly? 

Ms Yim believes that stair climbing strengthens muscles and bones, and reduces the risk of falling. 

“So far, my knees and my hips are very fine,” she says.

Every Saturday morning, a quiet stairwell at one of Singapore’s many high-rise